80348 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Notices 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 97719 

(June 13, 2023), 88 FR 39876 (‘‘Notice’’). 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98040, 

88 FR 53569 (August 8, 2023) (designating 

September 18, 2023, as the date by which the 

Commission shall either approve, disapprove, or 

institute proceedings to determine whether the 

proposed rule change should be disapproved). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 98409, 

88 FR 65208 (September 21, 2023). Comments on 

the proposed rule change are available at: https:// 

www.sec.gov/comments/sr-ise-2023-11/ 

srise202311.htm. 

6For a full description of the proposal, refer to 

the Notice, supra note 3. 

7See Supplementary Material .03 to Options 4, 

Section 5. Currently, the Exchange may list no more 

than a total of two Monday and Wednesday 

expirations on the iShares Russell 2000 ETF 

(‘‘IWM’’) and no more than a total of two Monday, 

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday expirations on 

the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (‘‘SPY’’) and the 

Invesco QQQ Trust (‘‘QQQ’’). See Table 1, 

Supplementary Material .03 to Options 4, Section 

5. 

8Options 1, Section 1(a)(49) provides that a Short 

Term Option Series means a series in an option 

class that is approved for listing and trading on the 

Exchange in which the series is opened for trading 

on any Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or 

Friday that is a business day and that expires on 

the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or 

Friday of the following business week that is a 

business day, or, in the case of a series that is listed 

on a Friday and expires on a Monday, is listed one 

business week and one business day prior to that 

expiration. If a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or 

Friday is not a business day, the series may be 

opened (or shall expire) on the first business day 

immediately prior to that Tuesday, Wednesday, 

Thursday or Friday. For a series listed pursuant to 

this section for Monday expiration, if a Monday is 

not a business day, the series shall expire on the 

first business day immediately following that 

Monday. 

9The United States Oil Fund, LP, United States 

Natural Gas Fund, LP, SPDR Gold Shares, iShares 

Silver Trust, and iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond 

ETF are referred to collectively as the ‘‘ETPs.’’ 

10The Exchange proposes to clarify the rule text 

in Supplementary Material .03 to Options 4, Section 

5 to specify that it can list two Short Term Option 

Expiration Dates beyond the current week for each 

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday 

expiration. Consistent with the current operation of 

the rule, the Exchange states that if it adds a 

Wednesday expiration (‘‘Wednesday Expiration’’) 

on a Tuesday, there would be three outstanding 

Wednesday Expirations at one time. See Notice, 

supra note 3, 88 FR at 39877, n.4. 

11See id. at 39877. 

12The Wednesday ETP Expirations would have a 

strike interval of $0.50 or greater for strike prices 

below $100, $1 or greater for strike prices between 

$100 and $150, and $2.50 or greater for strike prices 

above $150. 

13See id. at 39884. 

14See id. 

15See id. 

16See id. at 39878. 

17See id. at 39882–83. 

18See id. at 39883. 

19See id. at 39884. 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98905; File No. SR–ISE– 

2023–11] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Nasdaq 

ISE, LLC; Order Approving a Proposed 

Rule Change To Amend the Short Term 

Option Series Program To Permit the 

Listing of Two Wednesday Expirations 

for Options on Certain Exchange 

Traded Products 

November 13, 2023. 

I. Introduction 

On May 31, 2023, Nasdaq ISE, LLC 

(‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the Securities 

and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 

19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act 

of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to 

amend the Exchange’s short term option 

series program (‘‘Short Term Option 

Series Program’’) in Supplementary 

Material .03 of Options 4, Section 5 

(Series of Options Contracts Open for 

Trading). The proposed rule change was 

published for comment in the Federal 

Register on June 20, 2023.3 On August 

2, 2023, the Commission designated a 

longer period within which to act on the 

proposed rule change.4 On September 

15, 2023, the Commission instituted 

proceedings to determine whether to 

approve or disapprove the proposed 

rule change.5

This order approves the proposed rule 

change. 

II. Description of the Proposal 6

Currently, the Exchange may open for 

trading series of options on certain 

symbols that expire at the close of 

business on each of the next two 

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and 

Thursdays, respectively, that are 

business days and are not business days 

in which monthly options series or 

Quarterly Options Series expire (‘‘Short 

Term Option Daily Expirations’’).7 The 

Exchange proposes to expand the Short 

Term Option Series Program 8 to permit 

the listing of two Wednesday 

expirations for options on the United 

States Oil Fund, LP, United States 

Natural Gas Fund, LP, SPDR Gold 

Shares, iShares Silver Trust, and iShares 

20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF 

(collectively, ‘‘Wednesday ETP 

Expirations’’).9

According to the Exchange, the 

Wednesday ETP Expirations would be 

similar to the existing Short Term 

Option Daily Expirations in that the 

Exchange may open for trading on any 

Tuesday or Wednesday that is a 

business day (beyond the current 

week) 10 series of options on the ETPs 

that expire on any Wednesday of the 

month that is a business day and is not 

a Wednesday in which Quarterly 

Options Series expire.11 And like Short 

Term Option Daily Expirations, in the 

event that Wednesday ETP Expirations 

would expire on a Wednesday, and that 

Wednesday is the same day that a 

Quarterly Options Series expires, the 

Exchange would skip that week’s listing 

and instead list the following week; the 

two weeks would therefore not be 

consecutive. Options on each of the 

ETPs with Friday expirations would 

continue to have a total of five Short 

Term Option Expiration Dates, provided 

those Friday expirations are not Fridays 

in which monthly options series or 

Quarterly Options Series expire. The 

interval between strike prices for the 

proposed Wednesday ETP Expirations 

would be the same as those for the 

current Short Term Option Series for 

Friday expirations applicable to the 

Short Term Option Series Program.12 As 

is the case with other equity options 

series listed pursuant to the Short Term 

Option Series Program, the Wednesday 

ETP Expirations series would be P.M.- 

settled. 

In support of its proposal, the 

Exchange represents that it has an 

adequate surveillance program in place 

to detect manipulative trading in the 

proposed option expirations, in the 

same way that it monitors trading in the 

current Short Term Option Daily 

Expirations.13 The Exchange also 

represents that it has the necessary 

system capacity to support and properly 

monitor trading in the proposed new 

expirations.14 Additionally, the 

Exchange states that it does not believe 

that any market disruptions will be 

encountered with the introduction of 

these proposed option expirations.15

The Exchange currently trades Short 

Term Option Daily Expirations on SPY, 

QQQ, and IWM, including Wednesday 

Expirations, and states that it has not 

experienced any market disruptions nor 

issues with capacity.16 Further, the 

Exchange provides data comparing the 

ETPs to SPY, QQQ, and IWM, which 

have Wednesday Expirations today.17

According to the Exchange, the 

occurrence of the ETPs moving through 

at least one strike price after the close 

of trading has been less frequent than 

for SPY, QQQ, and IWM. In addition, 

the average annualized closing volatility 

in the last thirty minutes of trading for 

the ETPs has historically been lower 

than that of SPY, QQQ, and IWM.18

Finally, the Exchange states that the 

ETPs trade within ‘‘complexes’’ where, 

in addition to the underlying security, 

there are multiple highly-correlated 

instruments available for hedging.19

Therefore, the Exchange believes the 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 221 / Friday, November 17, 2023 / Notices 80349 

20See id. 

21See letter from Richard J. McDonald, 

Susquehanna International Group, LLP (October 20, 

2023). 

22See id. 

23 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). In approving this proposed 

rule change, the Commission has considered the 

proposed rule’s impact on efficiency, competition, 

and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 

24 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

25See supra note 22 and accompanying text. 

26See supra notes 13 and 14, and accompanying 

text. 

27 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

28 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2). 

29 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

proposal would not be a strain on 

liquidity providers.20

III. Discussion and Commission 

Findings 

The Commission received one 

supportive comment on the proposed 

rule change from a market maker. The 

commenter states that there is a great 

amount of liquidity in the Short Term 

Option Daily Expirations, and they do 

not cause market disruption and may be 

used to hedge more narrowly defined 

risks.21 The commenter expects that the 

proposed Wednesday ETP Expirations 

to exhibit the same characteristics and 

provide the same benefits.22

After careful review, the Commission 

finds that the proposed rule change is 

consistent with the requirements of the 

Act and the rules and regulations 

thereunder applicable to a national 

securities exchange and, in particular, 

with Section 6(b) of the Act.23 The 

Commission finds that the proposed 

rule change is consistent with Section 

6(b)(5) of the Act,24 which requires, 

among other things, that a national 

securities exchange have rules designed 

to prevent fraudulent and manipulative 

acts and practices, to promote just and 

equitable principles of trade, to foster 

cooperation and coordination with 

persons engaged in regulating, clearing, 

settling, processing information with 

respect to, and facilitating transactions 

in securities, to remove impediments to 

and perfect the mechanism of a free and 

open market and a national market 

system, and, in general, to protect 

investors and the public interest. 

As noted above, the Exchange 

currently has Wednesday Expirations 

for SPY, QQQ, and IWM. The Exchange 

proposes to limit the listing of 

additional Wednesday Expirations to 

the five ETPs, which generally have 

similar or lower volatility in terms of 

post-closing and end of day volatility as 

SPY, QQQ, and IWM. And, like SPY, 

QQQ, and IWM, the ETPs have multiple 

highly-correlated instruments available 

for hedging. In addition, the Wednesday 

ETP Expirations will be subject to the 

same rules for Wednesday Expirations 

in SPY, QQQ, and IWM. Further, as 

noted above, the commenter expects 

that the proposed Wednesday ETP 

Expirations to exhibit the same 

characteristics and provide the same 

benefits as existing Short Term Option 

Daily Expirations in SPY, QQQ, and 

IWM.25 The Exchange’s proposal is 

reasonably designed as a limited 

expansion of Wednesday Expirations 

and may provide the investing public 

and other market participants more 

flexibility to closely tailor their 

investment and hedging decisions using 

options on these ETPs, thus allowing 

them to better manage their risk 

exposure. Further, the Exchange has 

represented that it has an adequate 

surveillance program in place to detect 

manipulative trading in the Wednesday 

ETP Expirations and has the necessary 

systems capacity to support the new 

options series.26 The proposal, which 

would overall add a small number of 

Wednesday ETP Expirations by limiting 

the additional Wednesday Expirations 

to five ETPs and to two weeks beyond 

the current week, reasonably balances 

the Exchange’s desire to offer a wider 

array of investment opportunitieswith 

the need to avoid unnecessary 

proliferation of options series. 

Therefore, the Commission finds that 

the proposed rule change is consistent 

with Section 6(b)(5) of the Act 27 and the 

rules and regulations thereunder 

applicable to a national securities 

exchange. 

IV. Conclusion 

It is therefore ordered, pursuant to 

Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,28 that the 

proposed rule change (SR–ISE–2023– 

11), be, and hereby is, approved. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.29

Sherry R. Haywood, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–25378 Filed 11–16–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–98913; File No. SR– 

CboeBZX–2023–091] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe 

BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing 

and Immediate Effectiveness of a 

Proposed Rule Change To Amend Its 

Fee Schedule 

November 13, 2023. 

Pursuant to section 19(b)(1) of the 

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2

notice is hereby given that on November 

1, 2023, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule 

change as described in Items I, II, and 

III below, which Items have been 

prepared by the Exchange. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the 

‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) proposes to 

amend its Fee Schedule. The text of the 

proposed rule change is provided in 

Exhibit 5. 

The text of the proposed rule change 

is also available on the Exchange’s 

website (http://markets.cboe.com/us/ 

options/regulation/rule_filings/bzx/), at 

the Exchange’s Office of the Secretary, 

and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Purpose of, and 

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule 

Change 

In its filing with the Commission, the 

Exchange included statements 

concerning the purpose of and basis for 

the proposed rule change and discussed 

any comments it received on the 

proposed rule change. The text of these 

statements may be examined at the 

places specified in Item IV below. The 

Exchange has prepared summaries, set 

forth in sections A, B, and C below, of 

the most significant aspects of such 

statements. 


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